Reporters injured while covering clashes in Azerbaijan

March 1, 2012 4:12 PM ET

New York, March 1, 2012--At
least two journalists were injured and another five suffered the effects of
tear gas while covering violent clashes between police and residents of the
northeastern city of Quba, according to news reports and CPJ sources.

Thousands of protesters calling for a local
governor's resignation set fire to government buildings and the governor's
house, news reports said. Two journalists were assaulted during the protests,
Emin Huseynov, director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety
(IRFS) in the capital, Baku, told CPJ. Authorities sent riot police and armored
vehicles today to quell the protesters, the independent regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel
reported.

Huseynov told CPJ that unidentified assailants
attacked Rashid Aliyev, a reporter for the Internet-based Obyektiv-TV, from
behind, wounding his head. Idrak Abbasov, a journalist with IRFS, suffered an
unspecified arm injury, Huseynov said. The injured journalists, along with those
who were sprayed with tear gas, all sought treatment at a hospital, Huseynov
said. He also told CPJ that the journalists told him they were wearing vests
that clearly identified them as press although it was not clear whether they
had been targeted.

"We deplore the attacks against our colleagues, and
call on regional authorities to investigate all incidents," said CPJ Deputy
Director Robert Mahoney.

Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the
governor's office today, calling for Governor Rauf Habibov's resignation and
demanding an apology for his comments at a recent government meeting in which
he accused Quba residents of being "traitors" and selling their land cheap to
people from other regions, local
and international
press reports said. The protests began after video
footage of Habibov's comments was uploaded on YouTube earlier this week. Habibov
reportedly apologized for his statement, and has since been dismissed from his position, news reports said.

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